> The Great Circus-Catastrophe
>  by Dableaxcheaz
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Come one come all, don't be shy!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come one, come all! Come on down to the Big Top circus! Come and see a troupe of animals trained by the ring leader Big Top! And don’t miss your chance to witness the debut of the one and only 30ft ape, Magnus the Ultimate!” 

These were the words printed on an eye catching flyer with an ape in the center. The text was in all capitals and were in a typical circus style font; the very font that caught the attention of any pony passing by. Ponies gathered around the flyer, just moments after it was posted it on the exterior of Sugar Cube corner for the town to see. More posters began to pop up all across town, bringing the message to all the equines of ponyville that the circus was coming to town.

Interest in the show began to spark around the town, as they all traded murmurs and whispers among themselves. They were not just surprised by the short notice that the circus was coming soon, but what the circus was about to bring to town. According to what the poster claimed as well as the picture, the Big Top circus was bringing a giant ape along with them. The ponies spread the news around the town like wild fire, faster than the posters did. Everypony began to highly anticipate for the show, calendars were marked and schedules were rearranged for this grand event.

Fast-forward to the day of the show, two weeks and at 3:00 in the morning. In the field just outside the north outskirts of town, a group of wagons came pulling in while all was dark. It was the Big Top circus, arriving early to set up for the big day ahead of them. All of the stallions pulling their loads, unhooked themselves from the wagons and went right to work. The team worked diligently throughout the early morning hours, and wanted to surprise the public with their overnight appearance.

By the time the sky was slightly light, and moments away from the sun’s rise, a giant red tarp was laid out in the grass. The workers dressed in red shirts and black pants, gathered around the tarp for its grand rising.  They all took up large ropes that were stringed up with yellow and red pennants, and began to pull away as hard as they could. As they started to move backwards, the tarp began to rise up. They all kept on pulling and gave it their all, until the tarp became more of a high and mighty circus tent.

The workers immediately tied the ropes to large tall pegs before their strength gave out. The pegs were hammered into the ground with oversized mallets, each swing making the tent more stable. It wasn’t too long before every peg was secured into the earth. The rush to set up the tent was finished, and just in time for the sun rise.

As the sun crept out from the horizon and the moon was taking its rest, a mighty light beamed across Equestria. It pulled off the curtain of darkness, unveiling the Big Top circus for all to see in the light. The workers looked up at the yellow and red striped tent while they caught their breaths; and their boss marveled at the dawn of his own circus, and the success that he couldn’t wait to receive.  


As the morning went on, the residents of ponyvile slowly began to wake up to a delightful tune. It sounded like an organ, playing a carny tune that was set up to attract a crowd. It gave everypony that heard it a welcoming morning message. The circus was in town.

Little fillies and colts began to quickly wake their parents, getting them out of bed so they could take them there. More and more ponies began to wake up and listen to the tune. The organ’s music made the morning seem more lively. If only the day wasn’t Sunday, then it would have enhanced the business and market place greatly. But even then they would only stay open for a few minutes; it was the event that they all have been waiting for, who would want to miss this?

For the residents of Ponyville and the equines that were putting on the show, it was a big day for all of them. For the two weeks that the flyers were posted, it has been the most talked about subject in a while. Whether somepony was out shopping, at work, or just sitting around the house; they heard the name Big Top Circus at least once or twice a day.

As for the circus itself, it was the shows own debut, or at least to Ponyvile. A lot of planning from the circus master went into this project. Workers of the tent were hard at work preparing for the show, securing the pegs with more rope and positioning animal cages behind the tent.

On the inside there were working stallions building the bleachers for the audience. They assembled the pieces of wood and banged every nail in their right places. They were painted blue with white stars, giving them a small magic touch to it all. The stands themselves were big and tall, and they all circled the ring in the center. It was the very place where the performers would show off their stunts and wow the audience. The tent’s inside was very tall and spacious, and could house around half of Ponyvile’s population.

The circus master paced around his circus with his assistant pegs, making sure nopony was slacking off and doing their part of the job. Luckily nopony was slacking behind in the slightest, and they worked extra hard to please their boss. Everything seemed almost ship shape for the show, so it was now time for the big boss to get ready himself. He ordered pegs to take charge, while he went to his wagon and thought of the future. He could see success from afar.

He could see it now. If the show succeeded then it was no doubt that he and his show would become big, and the show would go down into the equestrian history books. The master knew that Ponyvile was in for a treat when they see his prized ape in action. He’ll be a big name star by the end of the day.

Though the Big Top circus was the first to ever come to Ponyvile, Equestria had another traveling circus which was in the prime of its career. This circus was known as the Moscow Circus, headed by the master also known as Moscow. It wasn’t that the circus was too good for Ponyvile, its just that the show was far away at another fancy venue, and never came to Ponyvile. The residents would all agreed that the circus should come to town more often.

When the time of high noon arrived, the show was ready for the crowd. Ponies began to flock on over to the tent as the sun hid behind clouds, shading off Ponyvile in the cool of the day. The tent wasn’t open for seating, but many ponies came in early anyway. The line started out small, but it soon grew out rapidly as more ponies came along. Within the first few minutes a long line formed, stretching from the entrance of the tent all the way across the path that went into town.

The line had mares and stallions, accompanying children and craving the thirst for the excitement. They all kept on murmuring about the show, waiting patiently for what they would be paying for. It was a very good thing that it was shady, or else the line may have been whining about the heat (or bring out vendors who would charge an unfair monopoly on the water they sold) . Every pony saw this day as a big day, and the circus was moments away from being open to the public. 

Around the middle of this long line of ponies, were four familiar figures that you all know and love. It was Fluttershy chaperoning three little fillies, or the cutie mark crusaders. The four of them were just as excited about the show as anypony else was. Scootaloo kept on talking about it at school, bringing Diamond Tiara to the brink of insanity as Scootaloo stole her conversation thunder.

They were lucky that Fluttershy was able to bring them to the first showing of the day. The Apples were busy trying to keep some animal from eating the crop, Rarity had some dresses to finish, and Scootaloo couldn’t get her parents or Rainbowdash to take her. They were all busy bees that couldn’t make the time. Fluttershy was more than welcome to take these kids to the show.

“Ah’ can’t wait to see the Circus!” Said Applebloom peeking her head out of line,” just look at all these ponies.”

“You said it,” added Scootaloo,” I hope the place doesn’t fill up too fast, I wanna get good seats.”

Sweetiebelle turned to Fluttershy,” thanks for taking us to the show Fluttershy.”

The yellow Pegasus smiled, ”oh it was nothing Sweetiebelle. I always welcome company.”

Applebloom then said,” Good thing too, you just got me out of doing todays chores. I would have been at home cleaning out the pig pens all day.”

Sweetiebelle added,” well at least that’s better than listening to your older sister whine at you whenever she needs some precise assistance or something.” She rolled her eyes,” Rarity is such a drama queen.” 

”I can’t wait to see the ape.” Scootaloo said,” I wonder if he really is 30ft tall?”

“Of course it is,” replied Applebloom,” It said so on the poster. The poster wouldn’t lie would it?”

“Well… it is a poster with an ape on it.” Sweetie said rubbing her chin,” Maybe it’s just a marketing scheme to get us worked up for the show.”

“What do you know about advertisin’?” Applebloom interrogated

“Have you seen the line we’re in?” Applebloom and Scootaloo poked their heads out to see the rest of the line behind them. It looked like the line was longer than they last checked.” Everypony in Ponyvile has been talking about this show since the posters came up. The poster was pretty influencing. ”

“Point taken.” Scootaloo said.“ But I wonder what kind of tricks he can do? Maybe he can juggle barrels while balance on a large ball, or hand standing while solving a puzzle cube” she continued to brainstorm with the possibilities,” Ooh, ooh. What if he can juggle fireballs while balancing on top of a big star ball! ”

Fluttershy interrupted,” Don’t you think that’s a little bit, uh I don’t know, extreme?”

“It’s possible,” she defended flapping her wings in excitement,” we’ve never seen him before, so anything is possible at this point! Right?”

Fluttershy giggled,” I guess kids will be kids.” She thought to herself, ”no matter how wild their imaginations run.”

Applebloom then asked, “How big is Magnus?”

“Less than 30ft tall,” Sweetiebelle answered,” that’s for sure.”

Applebloom felt pestered by the remark,” Well maybe he’s bigger than 30ft.”

“Or smaller.” Sweetiebelle chuckled wanting to get on Applebloom’s nerves.

“He is 30ft!” Applebloom stammered. ”It’s what the poster says, it’s what everypony here in this line says, and that’s what I say.”

Scootaloo wanted to try breaking up the silly argument before it got out of hoof, ”Guys guys, can we stop arguing about his size please. With a title like Magnus the Ultimate, is definitely huge!”

Applebloom looked at Sweetie,” See? See?”

“Whatever you say Applebloom,” Sweetiebelle said pulling out from the argument.

Applebloom kicked off a debate,” Oh yeah well-“

Fluttershy let them be for a second while she started to think to herself. Though Fluttershy didn’t want to form any assumptions, she did hear some things about the show; some ugly rumors that were going around. She wasn’t the type who would intrude on any conversation, but she heard from one of the many conversations revolving around the ring leader Big Top.

Rumor has it, that the animals at the Big Top circus had a dark secret. The stories ranged from mentioning robberies, to illegal scandals. These things did torment her the more she thought about it, but then again they were just measly rumors.

Of course, nopony in ponyvile has ever been or even heard of the Big Top Circus, let alone go behind the scenes and investigate for themselves. Even though they were only rumors, they seemed very real to Fluttershy. 

As the CMC continued to argue some more, the line leading into the tent began to move. Fluttershy noticed this when she broke out of thought and turned to the CMC. ”Uh, guys.” She softly asked.

The CMC turned to her,” What!?” they all said together making Fluttershy jump.

“Oh, sorry.” She quickly apologized,” The line is moving.”

The three looked ahead and saw ponies moving into the big red tent,” Forget about the ape guys,” Scootaloo suggested,” let’s just go in and have a good time.”

Applebloom turned and whispered to Sweetiebelle,” We’ll settle this after the show.” Sweetiebelle smiled, even though she really didn’t care about the debate. 

Soon the wave of movement made its way to where the four ponies stood, and they began to move with the flow. At a moderate pace, Ponies entered through the opening in the tent paying a small fee of bits for the admission. There was a pony inside of a booth taking the payments like at a movie theater box office. 

And of course with a large audience coming towards the Big Top circus’ way, it was reasonable to say that the money quickly racked up. The basket where all of the money was held was nearly full by the time Fluttershy and the fillies got there. Judging by the rate of incoming ponies, the show would be making more than a small fortune by the time the seats were full.

As they came closer to the booth, Fluttershy looked over at the side of the tent when she thought she heard something. As she was staring off, the CMC saw that she was holding up the line. “Come on Fluttershy, we gotta get a good seat.” Said Sweetiebelle.

She turned to Sweetiebelle, “You three can go on in.” she turned back and stepped forward out of line,” I kinda want to see something real quick.”

”We’ll save you a seat Fluttershy.” Said Sweetiebelle. They went up to the booth and paid their admission fee, and they went on inside to grab their seats before it was too soon.

Fluttershy walked along the side of the tent, hearing more noises as she got closer to the back. A pegasus like her wouldn’t normally be snooping around, but her curiosity got the best of her. The Rumors have been getting to her for a while now. If she just got a sneak peek at the back and prove the rumors to be false, maybe she could forget about those stories. When you hear the same types of stories for about two weeks, it kind of gets to you. 

The pegasus continued to walk around the tent until she stumbled upon an amazing sight. Before her very eyes was a yard of empty animal cages, all of them varying in size and shape. The organ that played the music was also there, with its red and yellow colored box and giant horns playing the tune. Fluttershy turned to where she could hear the animal sounds clearly, seeing that they were rounded up into a group. They all looked like they were being dressed and prepped for the show.

She saw a wide range of animals, from seals to monkeys and from dogs to exotic birds. They all looked as excited as they were restless. Fluttershy could see more animals from behind the group, but she couldn’t make out what they were from where she stood. It was quite a surprise to see all of these different types of animals in the same place. It was also mind blowing to think that one stallion trained them all by himself. Now that she was thinking about it, where was Magnus? Was he somewhere else getting prepared?

She didn’t notice it at first, but Fluttershy was actually standing in front of Magnus’ cage with her back turned. She turned around and froze in astonishment. The ape was right there in his cage slouching up against the bars. From the looks of it, the poster didn’t lie with any false advertising. If only Applebloom was there to prove Sweetiebelle wrong. 

Fluttershy looked up at the top of his cage. On a wooden board, the words read Magnus The Ultimate with the same exact circus font that was used on the posters. For an ape as big as Magnus, he had plenty of room in there. The cage was bigger than all of the others, making her wonder how many ponies it took to pull him here?

The ape within the cage was modestly buff, and looked very lanky seeing that his legs extended to the other side of the cage. He didn’t appear to be tense but he looked like the kind of ape who was friendly, maybe even a little bit clumsy at times. He had black fur, and tan skin to distinguish his face, feet, and hands as well as his chest. His eyes were black, and he had a red nose that stood out on his face.


But something about him felt off to Fluttershy. Unlike the rest of the animals who looked prepped and ready for the show, Magnus looked tired with his baggy eyes and body language. The ape didn’t look too happy either, as he placed his giant hand on his head and feeling a migraine in his forehead. Fluttershy stepped closer to the cage. “Oh my,” she said,” are you ok?” 

The ape didn’t notice her soft voice, but instead turned on his side for a better sleeping position. Fluttershy watched him rub himself as he heard him gritting his teeth as if he was in pain. He didn’t look like he was ready to go on, or in the right health to perform. Being the animal caretaker she was, Fluttershy started to become concerned for the ape’s health and decided to notify the ring master at once.

The Pegasus walked away from the ape’s cage and began to look around for the circus master. She looked at the ponies who were preparing the animals, but he didn’t look like he was there. Maybe he was getting ready for the show himself? She then among the yard of animal cages until she saw something. 

Off in the distance was a lone red wagon with a star on its green door. It was far away from all the other wagons and looked like it would stand out if it was lined up with the others. The wheels were gilded with gold and had the wagon had the words “Big Top circus” on the side. Fluttershy saw it as her best bet to look first.  

Inside the wagon was a unicorn who was preparing in the candle light of his wagon. The stallion was the one and only Big Top of the Big Top circus. He was a grey colored, black mane stallion and was dressed in a fancy red suit. He had a thin black mustache and matching go-tee combo. His cutie mark was one that resembled his own tent outside his wagon, and was the symbol that proved that he was the ring leader. He was now looking into the mirror with his black eyes as he prepared himself, by giving himself some pep talk before he went on to begin the show. 

“This is it Big Top!” he said to his reflection in a deep rough voice,” today is the day that I Big Top, will show Ponyvile the greatest show in the land. This may be the moment that I will be known by this town, and prove my worth. This is where I’ll make my stand, this is where I will grow. I just know that I will soon be known far and wide across this nation.” He chuckled to himself and turned to a poster flyer of the Moscow circus on the wall. He gave the ring master pony in the center a crazed grin,” yes, there can only be room for one ring master in Equestria.”

A knocking came to the door, Big Top broke away from his ego self-talk. He looked back to the door and cleared up his voice,” Come in, come in, whoever you are.” He greeted. The door slowly opened, Big Top turned to see Fluttershy at the door. Big Top grinned,” ah, come in, come in. What does one want with the one and only ring master of the circus, Big Top?”

“Oh,” Fluttershy softly said pulling her head away,” I-I’m sorry to interrupt, but are you-“

“Come closer, don’t be shy. If there is anything that you want to tell me, I’m all ears. Now tell me, what’s your name dear?”

The Pegasus entered with the door closing, “Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy?” He turned to his mirror looking at both of their reflections,” I can see that the name implies your personality now doesn’t it? But at least you could bring yourself courage to talk to me.” He laughed at his comment.

“Well yeah, but I want to talk to you about something s-sir.”

“Yes, tell me now.” He twisted his chair to Fluttershy,” Anything that you’re concerned about, ask away.”

“It’s about the,” she turns her head to the window, seeing Magnus slouched up against the cage.” I mean, Magnus sir. I think that there might be a little bit of a problem with the state he is in.”

The ring leader turned to the window where Fluttershy was looking,” Ah yes, Magnus, a fine work that ape is. It’s not every day you find a 30ft ape on some island in the middle of the ocean.”

Fluttershy turned to him, “I guess you must be one lucky stallion.” 

He let out a remarkable sigh as he turned back to powder his face,” Indeed, I remember the very day that I found him. The moment I stepped off that boat, I was certain to find something in the jungle.  It was fate’s decision that we would find each other, and we would make our greatest stand.” He then murmured,” But today will be our greatest comeback.”

Fluttershy was puzzled by that last phrase,” Comeback?”

Big Top quickly said,” Oh yes Ms. Fluttershy, today is our return to the scene.”

Fluttershy then asked,” What exactly made you stop? Our town has never heard of you before.”

Big Top felt a little bit shaky to tell her,” No no, we were doing well at first. Then we just had a bit of…” he thought to himself, trying to remember,” financial troubles. I know it’s sad, but it’s true.” He turned to Fluttershy,” After all, I wouldn’t have put Magnus on the poster if he wasn’t the star of the show now would I. Have you grown fond of him?”

“Why yes, I take care of animals in fact.” She looks at her cutie marked flank,” That is my job in life.”

Big Top became intrigued and rubbed his chin,” I see. An animal expert.” 

“Yes, and as I was saying Mr. Big Top, Magnus doesn’t look to well.”

“Really, how so?”

Fluttershy looked out of the window,” Well, he looks very tired for one thing, and I think he might have hurt himself as well.”

“A result of working hard on his act no doubt,” he took his black top hat off its hook.” I know that he’ll be great today.”

“And that’s the thing sir, he looks awful today. He’s having a hard time trying to sleep. I think that it would be best if you let him rest today.”

The stallion got off his seat and approached Fluttershy with a more cunning tone of voice,” Now now Fluttershy.” He put a hoof around her neck,” being the manager of this fine show, safety is our number one concern. Maybe Magnus isn’t feeling the best of his days, but I can assure you that nothing bad will happen. Magnus is a trooper even when he feels under the weather.” 

Fluttershy felt uncomfortable by the way Big Top was acting, and took his hoof off and backed away. “Are you sure you can’t just let him sit out this one time?”  

Big Top sighed,” Look here Fluttershy. That option would be very hard to do with the public.” He looked outside his window again.” They are already paying to see Magnus perform, I can’t just tell them that Magnus the Ultimate can’t perform. My first impression will be scathed you see, everypony has been waiting for this event for at least two weeks now.” Fluttershy tried to find that statement reasonable,” with a little bit of motivation I’m sure that Magnus will be good as new.”

As soon as he finished, the door opened wide and brightened the room some more with the sunlight. It was Big Top’s assistant manager Pegs, with the same exact features as Big Top only without facial hair and was younger. He looked like he had news to tell his boss, “Mr. Big Top, it’s almost time for the show sir.”

With a pleased tone, “Ah, wonderful Pegs. How’s the size of the audience right now?”

Pegs quickly peered over his clip board,” It’s pretty large sir and ponies are still coming in. The basket of money in the box office is overflowing.” Big Top’s eyes widened as he imagined the wicker basket being covered in bits. “On top of that sir, I’d say that it’s gonna be a full house today. If we pull this off, we’ll be more than just a hit sir. We’ll be a smash hit!”

Big Top could feel his heart tickling with excitement. He felt deeply motivated by the news and said,   “Excellent Pegs, I’ll be right out!”

The stallion smiled,” We’re gonna knock em dead aren’t we sir?”

“You’ve got that right.” Pegs chuckled a little as he closed the door. When Big Top looked at Fluttershy again, a thought popped into his head at that very instant,” wait a minute Pegs!” He called out

The door quickly opened up again,” Yes sir?”

“I want you to give Ms. Fluttershy here, an escort to a free showing.” He smiled at the pegasus and twisted his mustache,” It’s on me.” Both Fluttershy and pegs were surprised by the order.

Pegs looked at Fluttershy and said,” Look at you girl. Guess today must be your lucky day huh?” Fluttershy didn’t feel as lucky as she was supposed to be.

Big Top approached the Pegasus,” And don’t worry Ms. Fluttershy, I’ll make sure that Magnus The Ultimate is up and running like a well-oiled machine. Now go on, we wouldn’t want to keep the audience waiting now would we?”

Fluttershy still felt the hand of uncertainty touch her heart. But she nodded and followed pegs out of the dressing room. As the two trotted towards the circus tent Big Top waved at them as they left. He closed the door and went back to his mirror for the finishing touches on his features. 

Fluttershy turned her head to the cage where Magnus was kept. She tried to leave her trust in Big Top. But she had the feeling that Big Top gave her the free admission to get her out of his hair. He was hiding something from her, something that could spawn numerous ugly rumors like the ones she heard. 

Back inside the dressing room wagon, Big Top just finished washing his face for any dirt or grime that could be spotted by anyone with sharp eyes. He turned himself to the cage of his star, who was still twisting and turning to get some sleep.

He began to frown upon him.” This ape is going to end this show without a hitch. I refuse to let what happened last time happen again. I will not let history repeat itself, and tarnish this stallion’s reputation.” Big Top turned back to his mirror and began to groom up his mustache and goatee.

> Things Go Horribly Wrong
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pegs continued to escort Fluttershy on over to the main entrance to the show. When they walked around the tent, Fluttershy saw that the line had diminished greatly while she was gone. It was only 15 so Ponies waiting instead of the hundreds that were in line earlier. 

Pegs stepped forward to the stallion who was managing the admission box and said,” Big Top has allowed free admission to Ms. Fluttershy here.”

The other stallion nodded,” Alrighty, right this way mam.” The ponies in the line watched in envy as Fluttershy entered the tent. She turned around to say her thanks to Pegs for the free show, only to find that he was gone. He probably had somewhere else to be at this minute with all the preparation that is going on.

Within the first couple of steps, Fluttershy could feel the very excitement in the air from what she was seeing. She heard the voices of the audience mixing in with the music that was played from an organ. This one was being played by an actual stallion instead of being automated like the one in the back. The music made everyone feel happy as they continued to share their excitement with one another as it continued to build. Before Fluttershy got lost in the view, she needed to find the CMC.

The ring of wooden bleachers that bordered the tent, were filled with the ponies of Ponyvile. They all filled the stands with some young fillies and colts sitting on their laps. The CMC could be anywhere in this packed crowd. Fluttershy scanned her eyes across the crowd, but there was no need to search any longer when she heard Applebloom’s voice coming from behind.

“Fluttershy, over here!” the filly shouted. Fluttershy quickly turned to the stands behind her, where she spotted the girls sitting next to each other. Between Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle there was a gap, which was the seat that they had saved for Fluttershy. The bleachers they sat in were next to the entrance, so they must be good seats.

Fluttershy made her way up the steps on the side of the stands and to the middle row where the CMC sat. The fillies watched their chaperone fly over the other ponies and fit herself into the empty space that they saved. She tucked her wings and made herself comfortable. “You made it!” Sweetiebelle said.

“Good thing too,” Scootaloo added,” we were getting tired of shooing away anypony else before they could take your seat. Not that it was a problem or anything, but hey check out the view. ” Fluttershy couldn’t agree with her more, they were practically the best seats in the house. She could see the entrance to the back stage where the animals would enter from, with the pole in the center of the tent that wasn’t much of an obstacle in her view.

Applebloom turned to Fluttershy,” So where did you go to?” She asked

Fluttershy turned and said, “Oh, I just went around back to check something out. I just wanted to prove some rumors that I heard false, not that any of them were true. I did see animals though.”

“What kind of animals?” Scootaloo asked.

Fluttershy didn’t want to spoil anything,” just wait and see.”

“Did you see the Ape, I-I mean Magnus The Ultimate?” asked Sweetie. Fluttershy was thinking about something else. “Fluttershy?”

Her thought was broken up,” huh? Oh yes, yes I did.”

“Was he 30ft tall?!” asked Applebloom leaning towards her.

“Oh yes,” she stared off at the stage again,” in fact I’d say that it’s probably… bigger.”

Applebloom nudged Sweetiebelle’s shoulder, “Told ya!”

Sweetiebelle didn’t care. She thought,” Ok sure I believe you, rub it why don’t ya?”

While Applebloom gave Sweetie a smug look, while the unicorn tried to ignore her. Scootaloo could see a concerned look in Fluttershy’s. “What’s up Fluttershy? Aren’t you excited to see the show?”

“I am, I really am.” She responded,” I also met the ring master while I was backstage too. ”Applebloom and Sweetie looked at her, “Let’s just say I’m really not too fond of him right now.”

“Why, what’s he like?” Applebloom asked.

Fluttershy didn’t feel like responding to that question, “It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just that-“

At that moment, the lights began to dim and the music stopped playing. It was the signal that meant the show was about to start. Fluttershy cut herself off as the crowd began to roar and whistle. ” It’s starting!” said Sweetiebelle with a squeak. Fluttershy put aside her thoughts towards Big Top and turned her attention to the darkened stage.

Two stallions on opposite sides of the tent turned on the spotlights and directed their beams of light. As they began to scurry over the stage a drum began to roll, raising the Excitement began in the crowds. A loud rough voice then boomed out from the shadows. 

“Fillies and gentle colts, boys and girls! It is with great honor and pleasure, to welcome one and all to the one and only Big Top Circus!” the crowed gave their applaud.” And now, introducing to you today, the ring leader and one which the show is named after, Mr. Big Top!” The beams of light focused on Big Top when the drum roll ended with a symbol’s crash. 

The crowd cheered at his appearance, as the master bowed his head to the audience all around him. “Thank you, thank you all!” he said. “Welcome one and all!” the loud cheering began to die down. “Up upon this stage today, you will see many great animals performing amazing feats of wonder! I myself have transformed every animal, into the talented creatures they are today!” 

“And of course for the grand finale, we will show you best for last! You all know pretty well who I’m talking about. The 30ft ape Magnus The Ultimate!” The audience roared again, as Big Top grinned to their pleasure,” And now, fillies and gentlecolts. Behold, the animals of the Big Top Circus!” The lights quickly illuminated the tent in a flash, as the full house began to roar and clap.

A cranked up record player near the back stage began to play a circus march. A small opening on the other side from the entrance appeared. Animals came marching in with their fancy suits along with stallion circus workers as their escorts. Fluttershy recognized most of animals she saw earlier, but there were some animals she didn’t notice like penguins, snakes and other fauna among the march.

They went around the edge of the ring as the ponies cheered them all from the stands. When all of the animals were inside the tent with the tarp closing, the marching of the animals and workers stopped. The animals turned to the crowd and began to cheer back like the ponies in the stands were. They made animal calls that made them sound like they were enjoying their audience’s amusement, in an attempt to mimic the audience that were already loving them.

Some of the crowd began to giggle at their display. Even the escorts themselves couldn’t help but smile at their gestures. After about a minute of animal calls it was time to wrap up the intro. The crowd began to give one more round of applause to their performers as they left the stage, hoping to see great talents from them when the real show got going. 

The opening to the back closed off when the last of them went out. The lights started to dim as Big Top went to the center stage and the lights beamed on him to bring the crowd’s attention.

“Now how was that for a start huh?” Big Top announced.” You can’t find talent like at the Moscow circus, and it’s time to show off what they’ve prepared for!” The crowd grew impatient to see what was in store. “Now! For the first act, I will bring out a trio of seals. Now you may think that it’s going to be a simple balancing act with balls! But you see, here at the Big Top circus; we like to add a little excitement.” A team of workers began to bring out the equipment while it was still dark,” We are unique.” 

Out of nowhere, a ring of fire lit off in a FOOM. The combustion of flames gave light that lit up the crowd’s surprised faces while two openings appeared in the roof as a means of ventilation. 

Four giant balls were located next to the flame hoop, each one a different color with a star pattern. Just by looking at the crowd’s expressions Big Top chuckled, knowing that he had grabbed the audience,” you know what they say in the circus? Show Time! HaHaHaHaaaa!”

As a group of seals came from the opening, the organist cracked his fetlocks and had them ready to play. The seals moved their way on over to the balls and climbed on top. The organist now began to play some sort of ecstatic tune, while the seals began to move around in a circle as the act had begun. 

Soon, they were picking up speed and so did the song. They were now on a fast rolling spree as four workers brought four light weight balls for the prime portion of the act. They threw the balls to each individual seal, and they caught them all on the tip of their noses. They were now spinning the balls while rolling on their big balls and rolling in circles. The crowd was was silent, but they couldn’t keep their eyes off the action.

The seals then began to toss the balls to one another and catching them while they were in motion. The balls flew up in many directions going through the hoop, above the hoop, and even to the sides of the flame hoop. The audience couldn’t comprehend all of these throws and catches happening all at once. It was throw catch, throw catch like it was as if it was some sort of juggling act. The complexity and fast paced movement of the balls and seals could cure a lazy eye by the time it was over.

After about a minute and a half of juggling, it was time for the climax. The seals caught the balls one last time and spun them up on their noses. All four threw the balls up into the air, bringing the audience to the edge of their seats. The balls came back down, and a single seal caught them all on the tip top of his nose. They were perfectly balanced, and not a single one fell. 
The organist played a sustained note to end the song, followed by a few seconds of dead silence. After holding it in during the performance, the crowd gave off an immense applause as the seals rolled off to the back. It was only the first act of the show, and everypony was already hooked on what’s to come. Even the CMC were impressed by the display, “Wow!” said Sweetiebelle,” that was some act.”

“Yeah, who would think that somepony taught them how to do that!” Added Scootaloo,” I wonder how he did it?”

The audience began to calm itself down when Applebloom had a realization,” maybe that’s our talent, Cutie Mark Crusaders animal trainers!”

“Didn’t we already try that one?” said Sweetie.

“I don’t know, I never really kept track of what we tried.” Said Applebloom.

Fluttershy gave a small clapping as well as a little smile towards the impressive display. But she was still looming over her suspicion with Big Top. She could see the ring leader in the back, smiling while twisting his black mustache. The way he grinned and scrunched his eyes could only mean that he was up to no good. As much as she didn’t admire his body language, she was still giving him a chance.

While the audience was reduced to a whisper, Big Top straightened his features. “Best not keep them waiting.” He thought.


The ring of fire was eventually put out and the light quickly dimmed with the absence of the flames. The workers quickly moved it away from the center stage, as Big Top walked to the center stage as he cleared his voice. The spot lights came on and he spoke to the crowd. ”You think that’s all folks? These seals are only the cherry on the Sunday. There are so many acts coming this way Ponyvile, so don’t you fret! Let’s give a round applause for our next set of performers!” The audience now cheered with very high expectations.

Throughout the hour, Big Top brought on animal upon animal to perform their best for the audience. It gave the house a wide variety, making it a little bit challenging to pick their favorites. From monkeys that connected themselves into a ball that rolled, to a bunch of exotic birds showing off a small air show. The crowd kept on eating it up, like a gluttonous pig awaiting the next course.

There then came acts that went to high extremes. One of which, had a bear balancing on a unicycle on tightrope high up in the air without a net; while holding up 10 monkeys on both ends of the balancing pole blind folded. The pole teetered as the bear pedaled its way across, sending the audience into a frenzy. Luckily it didn’t get any more extreme afterwards.

A few more acts came after that, and the one after the next was the finale. Big Top listened into the crowd’s murmurs and took in the mostly positive feedback. He knew from the looks of things that he was in the clear for success. He straitened himself out, and went upon the stage for the next announcement.

“All right ponies, why don’t we give another round of applause for all of these amazing creatures huh?” The crowd did as he requested,” Excellent work they are.” The audience died down once again,” Now, before we bring out the one you have all been waiting for, I want to break the monotony a little with some equine performers.” The crowd looked at one another in curiosity,” They may not be the smartest, but fillies and Gentle colts, I present to you here at the Big Top circus, the clowns!” The audience was surprised, while little kids hearts jumped. 

The drum roll commenced as the act opened up, and clashed when a single clown casually waltzed up to the center stage wearing a stupid get-up of clothes, make up, and fake hair. Big Top looked around at the opening in the back, seeing no pony else entered yet. He walked up to the single clown on the stage,” uh, where’s the rest of them.” The clown smiled and whispered into Big Top’s ear, “Wait, they’re not coming in? Did they quit?!” the clown continued,” wait, they didn’t quit?” the clown gave a big lipped smile with an eye roll.” Then where the heck are they?” Then out of nowhere, a stamped of clowns came rushing in like cattle. The audience chuckled a bit when Big Top ran off the stage in fright.

The clowns rushed on in to the center stage, sliding on their knees with jazz hooves. Big Top was feeling a little bit annoyed, but he shook off the feeling quickly. Though he would have taken it more lightly if he was warned before hoof, Big Top had to admit that it was a pretty clever entrance. 

Most of the audience was interested as the clowns began their act, though the actual performance wasn’t as interesting and exhilarating as the animals that performed before them. It felt out of left field and was seen as a short intermission to clean the palette. Little kids hid with their faces with their little hooves from seeing the clowns, and a couple mothers helped bring them out of the tent when they started crying. 


The act started off with the clowns resorting to stupid mindless comedy that could give off a chuckle or two, it was nothing too interesting to see. The ponies did get a good laugh, no matter how uninteresting and mediocre the act really was. The clowns weren’t even talented clowns to begin with, they were some of the workers who suggested the idea to Big Top.

Among the jokes that the clown’s had up their sleeves, were the typical practical jokes you could find at the local joke shop. They were run in the mill, but just seeing how the clowns reacted to the shenanigans made the crowd at least smile. They stepped on whoopee cushions, popped balloons in each other’s ears, made each other slip and slide across the floor, and even got into a little bit of a fight. 

The act ended off with a massive cream pie fight, and this where things became very interesting. It started out as a simple silly skirmish with a few warning shots, only to transform into total war. The pies were being shot rapid fire from cannons on one side, while a few from the other side splattered in midair like an explosive. Pies were even being thrown into the audience, caking ponies with whipped cream. This finale was now compensating for its vanilla intro. 

Near the end of the battle, one side was being nailed left and right with pie. They couldn’t even return fire with all the pie in their faces. The firing side ceased fire and laughed in victory, but it wasn’t over. One of the stallions on the other team called out their secret weapon, a giant pie load on a catapult. The weapon was brought out by the workers, and the other side’s laughter disappeared.

The catapult fired the pie at the opposing side, the clowns tried to escape but it was too late. The pastry exploded on impact, shooting out cream all over the clowns and ponies who sat in the stands behind. A white flag came out of the cream declaring surrender. So much whipped cream and bits of crust were covering the stage floor. The crowd then gave out their cheers for an exciting climax, while the ring leader Big Top went out of the circus tent to fetch the final act.

The CMC and even Fluttershy were impressed. Fluttershy really enjoyed the show for what it was, despite the things she was suspecting with Big Top. The animals were all able to pull off their acts like it was nothing.

As the crew members of the circus went right to work on cleaning the stage for the big finish, Ponies were already giving their own reviews on the experience. Most of them were pleased to be there, and thought that it was a great show all around. It was sad for some that the finale was next; but good things have to come to an end.

Big Top went on to the center stage to make his big announcement. The lights dimmed once more and the spotlights followed him in the dark,” Now that you saw the rest of circus, how about we end it off with the one you have all been waiting for?” The audience clapped and cheered at the intimation. “Yes fillies and gentlecolts, it is time. Drum roll please?” The drums began to roll once more.” Weighing in, at a whopping 3000 lbs., standing tall at 30ft!” The anticipation was just killing the audience at this point,” The one that you’ve all’ve been waiting for, the one and only eighth wonder of the world!” The lights left the ring and spotted on the backstage entrance as Big Top shouted,” Fillies and gentlecolts, MAGNUS!!! THE ULTIMATE!!!”

As everypony shouted out, a giant hand came out from behind the striped curtain and pulled it up, revealing the face of an ape to everypony in the tent. Magnus gave a goofy and tired sort of smile as he started to walk inside, yawning and stretching out his long arms. Big Top ran off the stage and over to the stands, keeping an eye out on the ape. “Alright big shot,” he murmured to himself,” you better do this one right. This is what we’ve been practicing all this time. I know you can do it.”

Magnus continued to yawn and scratch his head. Fluttershy could see from her seat that he looked like he just woke up, she began to worry. The ape was still stretching and lost in his own train of thought, but the crowd thought that he was still warming up. The audience soon became a little bit impatient; they wanted him to do something amazing, not just stand around and do nothing.

Big Top was especially starting to give him the stink eye. “Come on you big baboon.” He grumbled,” Don’t just stand there do something! You remember what happened last time!” The ape looked down to see a star ball that the workers brought out for him. He kept on looking at it and scratched his head, as if he didn’t know what to do with it. Big Top was losing more of his patience,” Come on, the crowd is losing their interest Magnus. Come on!” he yelled.

Then it clicked to the apes head at his master’s yell, and he slowly got himself onto the ball. Big Top’s irritated mood began to be replaced with slight joy. “Yes, yes, that’s it. Get on the ball, then we’ll start your juggling act.” Fluttershy watched Magnus maintain his balance, only to watch him fall off the giant ball. The yellow Pegasus shielded her eyes as the ape fell to the hard ground with a thud. The audience was finding that the Big Finale was more of a big dud. The intermission with the clowns was more entertaining to them.

Big Top watched his crowd begin to change their expressions from excited to almost disappointed in a matter of seconds. Big Top stared down at Magnus who was still on the floor,” Get up!” he yelled,” Get up I say! Get up and try again!”

Fluttershy uncovered her eyes at the exact moment Big Top was shouting in anger. He was infuriated that Magnus was failing him, he didn’t want to wind up like a laughing stock with a dud finale with something as attention grabbing as a giant ape. All of the hype that built up for two weeks, all the excitement that was given off was dropped. The audience was beginning to boo at the ape.

Magnus finally got back up on his feet and attempted the act once more; only to fall off again. The Ape couldn’t focus with his tired head, and the booing and hissing wasn’t making things easier. He got up on top of the ball one last time, but he fell forward. Fluttershy didn’t want to see anymore, wanted his master to take him off stage before things could get worse. The Ape looked up from the ground, seeing all of these angry faces looking at him. All he could do was cover his ears and close his eyes. He and Fluttershy both wished that this all could stop.

“Come on you big monkey!” Big Top yelled pulling out a whip from his satchel with red magic. “Get up and give these ponies what they want! If you can’t give them a show, get off my stage and go back to your cell!” Fluttershy watched Big Top unfurl his whip as he marched himself towards the cowering ape. “Get up!” he demanded with the voice of a drill sergeant,” I command you!” The ape still didn’t listen. The ring master had enough of the ape’s hesitation. “You’ve disobeyed me one to many times Magnus!”

Big top raised the whip up high with his aura, and cracked at the ground in anger. ”You don’t deserve the title Magnus the Ultimate you know!” A feeling began to build up within Magnus, some sort of powerful drive began to build. All of the booing from the crowds, the humiliation, the pain, and the failure were building up this strong feeling. As it continued to form, he had a thought, “Why am I taking orders from this puny horse? Why did I even come with him?” At this moment, his blood began to boil in his own anger.

As Big Top continued to whip Magnus, Fluttershy drew the line. Not only did Big Top lie to her that Magnus would be ready, but also abuse an animal in front of her. Big Top was not even being merciful to Magnus in the slightest, as if he had no heart for what the poor animal was feeling. The CMC saw Fluttershy stand up from her seat with a very concerned look, and wanted to walk up to Big Top and give her a piece of her mind. 


But when Magnus began to rise from the ground, she something terrible in his eyes. He made an angry brow, gritted his teeth, and had his nose become as red as his fully built up rage. Big Top ceased with the whipping when as he was rising,” about time you listened to me!” he grumbled. “It’s too late to do anything now! You already blew it!” Magnus was ready to blow his fuse.

Big Top raised an eyebrow at his new attitude. ”What’s the matter with you?” Magnus then dropped down on his giant hands and let out a roar in the face of his boss. The roar sent air, spit, and a loud sound in Big Top’s face. The intense force knocked the ring master down to the floor, and hushed the audience of its booing and hissing.

Magnus stood back up and turned his attention to the ponies who were booing him (Which was most of the audience really). He was no longer a goofy looking giant ape, oh no. He appeared before the crowd as an angry monster. He had killer in his eyes, drool dripping from his mouth, and razor sharp teeth. The crowd was shocked, and they all regretted their decision to ever boo at him.

The ape huffed and puffed, he clenched his fists as he approached the stands. The crowd’s eyes widened as his shadow cast down on one section of the bleachers. They all began to run from the stands as Magnus let out another roar and banged on his chest. Nopony dared to challenge Magnus, as intimidating as he was. No Pegasus wanted to fly near him, no unicorn wanted to fire a spell at him. They all wanted to run like mad and get far away from the wild animal. 

Meanwhile Big Top got back on his hooves from the knock down and turned to Magnus. Seeing that he was in his fit of rage, he needed to contain him quickly before it became any worse. He quickly began to signal workers to gather up ropes, as Magnus continued his tantrum.

Ponies were now starting to run away from the stands all around the circus. All of the ponies in her set of stands all began to dash on over to the nearest set off stairs. It soon became a stampede as more and more began to run in a group. The CMC were forced to flee, while Fluttershy was forced to take cover in the gap between the seats. She covered head as ponies passed over her, with pegasi in the air and some ponies jumping out from the stands. 

Magnus then decided that he had enough of being in the circus, and decided to make his way towards the exit. He saw that Big Top assembled his workers near the back door with ropes, so he went to front entrance. Big Top seeing that he was now escaping, charged onward with his full team of workers to take on the gargantuan ape.

The ponies that were on their trying way were running faster than ever out of the tent. With the entrance only being so big, they were all pushing and squeezing just to get out. Even when the adults took up their kids and the pegasi fitting through the space above them, it was still a challenge. The tension increased more and more with every step Magnus took.

Magnus was now only a steps away from his exit, but only one step away from crushing somepony beneath his foot. But then a series of ropes from behind lassoed onto the apes arms. Magnus twisted his head to see that it was Big Top with 20 of his workers. They all pulled and made Magnus step backwards away from the rushing ponies. ”Pull! Pull!” commanded Big Top,” don’t let him get through the entrance!” The stallions pulled with all their might to bring the ape away from the ponies.

Magnus knew that the company’s intention was to bring him down and contain him. He might not ever get another chance to escape. A vision then appeared in his eyes, showing a sepia atmosphere all around. For an instant he saw a sad ape sitting inside of his cage, as a ring master walked up to him and smiled. “You’re gonna be a star Magnus! And your gonna make my circus even better.” He began to laugh maniacally as he walked away, leaving the ape alone in the dark.

Though this vision was painful to see, it motivated him to more than ever. Magnus was not going to let himself stay at the circus any longer. And with that, he could feel power flowing into his arms giving him a little extra push. He then pulled his right arm with the extra power, overpowering the workers from keep the rope between their teeth. Eventually the ropes themselves snapped one by one, freeing the right arm. 

He then did the same thing with the other, though it was made easier as he focused all his energy into it. Big Top and the crew saw the ropes dropping to the ground, and Big Top’s face sank as Magnus proceeded on towards the exit. 

By now, the last of the scared ponies were just leaving out of the exit. Magnus noticed that the hole was way too small for him, but that didn’t stop him from making an opening more of his size. He squatted down and took his fists to the hole and grabbed the tarps, then he pulled them apart and ripped open his exit. As the ponies all ran for town in their panic Magnus took his first steps outside and began to savor them. 

He spent so much time cooped up in a cage during the hours when he wasn’t practicing, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt grass beneath his toes. He could feel the strong summer breeze passing through his black fur, calming him down as he took in the endless view of the horizon. The first moment of freedom felt good to him while it lasted, but now it was time to move on. The farther away he was front the tent, the better.

Back inside of the tent, Fluttershy came out of her cover to see that everypony was gone. She looked over to the side and saw the giant rip in the tent. Judging by the screaming of ponies outside as well as the hole, Magnus must have escaped and was now roaming free on his own. There’s no telling what could happen if the ape waltzed right into town. She came down from the stands and ran outside.

She peeped her head out of the opening to see mass mayhem on the outside. The ponies were all scrambling away from the area, while Magnus proceeded to move forward. The ape was headed down the path that lead to Ponyvile. “Oh Big Top,” Fluttershy said,” look what you’ve done.” She then saw the CMC running towards her.

“Fluttershy!” Applebloom said,” you’re ok!”


“We’re sorry about the split up,” Scootaloo added,” we tried to come back, but we couldn’t get past all of those panicking ponies. It’s a mad house right now!”

“It’s ok girls,” Fluttershy said,” I’m just glad that you three got out.”

“What are we gonna do?” exclaimed Sweetiebelle,” Magnus The Ultimate is headed right for town!”

Fluttershy quickly tried thinking of solutions. “Can’t you tame him?” asked Scootaloo pointing her.

Fluttershy gulped to that idea, “Me?!” 

“Oh Yeah,” added Applebloom,” I forgot that you’ve got the stare. That should do the trick!”

Fluttershy looked at the giant scary ape stepping closer and closer to the town,” Are you sure there’s not an easier option?”

“We don’t know if there is another option!”  Scootaloo explained,” They say that you can master any wild animal if you look at it in the eye!”

Though she nervous to consider it, she said, “Alright, I’ll go.” She took a deep breath, knowing that the CMC were behind her back and began to fly. With her and the stare Magnus wouldn’t know what hit him; he didn’t know that she was a shy pony with the abilities of an animal tamer. As she flew overhead, she saw Big Top and his workers going in for another attack with more ropes.

Hoping for the best, Fluttershy flew down in front of the apes face. It managed to stop him from moving, but with a tense confused look, he looked the pegasus over. He didn’t know if he should be intimidated or pestered that this stopped him from moving.

Fluttershy then said, “Magnus, please you must stop this.” Magnus grunted at her,” I need you to please just settle down so we talk this over.” Magnus began to growl at her. Fluttershy tried to look at Magnus in the eye, but in his iris she saw a tomb stone with the epitaph reading, “HERE LIES A DEAD PONY.” Then without warning, Fluttershy was grabbed out of the air with his massive hand. She began to squirm, but her little strength was no match for Magnus the Ultimate’s grip.

Fluttershy shriveled in fear,” Oh…d-dear.” Magnus roared into her face, blowing her pink mane and some of her lips back.

Big Top and his workers made to Magnus, only to see that Fluttershy was in his grasp. Big Top yelled from the top of his lungs,” Magnus, you release her right this instant!” Magnus turned around to see his mustached ex-master scolding him as usual. He kept his hold on Fluttershy and began to run. Using his feet and his free hand, he could now move faster than ever before.

His movements sent thunder into the ground as he headed into Ponyvile. The remaining half of ponies in the town were just minding their own business, until they began to hear the tremors beneath their feet. Applejack was among these ponies to hear the quaking, as well as see Magnus flying right on by. He moved with swift speed that she only caught a glimpse of Fluttershy in his hand.

The giant ape had no clue where to go from here. As long as he was still moving Big Top couldn’t catch him, but he couldn’t just keep on moving. There had to be a much faster way than just running. 

He then heard a strong steam whistle from somewhere. He stopped himself to see where that sound was coming from. Off in the distance, he could see the Ponyvile express, all boarded and ready to go. The train had a new freight car installed, and it didn’t appear to be holding anything. It was his only chance to get far away from his troubles.

Big Top tried to keep up with Magnus, but he was too fast and far up. When he and Fluttershy made it to the train itself, he loaded himself onto the cart. Luckily it was the right size, and didn’t break as soon as was comfortable. Big Top began to panic now that he knew where he was headed for.

The locomotive took some effort to build up power with the added weight, but fortunately it didn’t take long to start moving. Just when Big Top and his team were just yards away; the train quickly picked up speed, losing the circus stallions in the dust. Magnus smiled as he waved with satisfaction, while Fluttershy cried out for help.

As he saw the train enter a tunnel, Big Top had to stop and catch his breath,” Curses!” He growled,” he got away!”

Applejack along with the fillies, ran up to the group,” What in tarnation is going on?” Applejack said.

Big Top turned to the apple horse,” My ape… he ran off with a yellow Pegasus in his hand… a Ms. Fluttershy.”

Applejack thought that she looked familiar,” That’s my friend in his hand!”

“Forget about that for now, where is that train headed to? I must catch him.” He asked regaining his breath. He then thought to himself,” I can’t see this getting any worse!”

“I reckon that these tracks are headed off to Canterlot. And say, if that was your ape, then what made him go crazier than a dog with rabies?”

Big Top felt too annoyed to answer that question. He looked up at the city on the mountain and caught a terrible vision, causing his face to fill with fear when he saw it,” Oh no.” he muttered turning to his team. He then called,” Pegs!” The situation just became direr than before.

The assistant ran up to him,” Yes sir.”

He looked back at the elegant city. “Pegs,” he said in an urgent voice,” I need you to get the pegasi workers! We’ve gotta catch that ape pronto!”

Pegs could tell from his voice that he was afraid of something,” Why? What’s chewing you up boss?”

Big Top turned to Pegs with an even more terrified face,” He’s headed for the sophisticated capital city of Equestria! You know how these elegant ponies are? There’s gonna be lawsuits up the flanks!”


							

> Panic at The Capital
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile at the circus, Big Top and his workers began to pump up a hot air balloon. Big Top commanded his men to watch over the animals, as well as assure everypony in town that the situation would be under control. With his three pegasi hooked up to the balloon and Pegs coming along, Big Top took up a set of reigns and took the balloon to the sky at great speed.

As for our giant ape Magnus, he was well on his way to Canterlot while Fluttershy tried calling for help. She tried and tried, only to have her screams muffled by the gusts of wind. Nopony even noticed that Magnus was on the train.
Despite the slight altitude sickness, Magnus felt assured that he would be far away from Big Top when this was over. He was hoping that he would end up in a place that was isolated from civilization like a forest; or better yet, the jungle. But Magnus wouldn’t know where he would wind up at until he had arrived.

Meanwhile at Canterlot, it was all fine and good with everyone’s life style. All of the richest of equines were either enjoying lunch at a local café, looking at art, or probably spending away their bits on things they don’t really need. It was relaxing Sunday afternoon for them, but the city would be in for one heck of a surprise when Magnus arrives. 

Within the next fifteen minutes or so, the Ponyvile express began to slow down as it approached the platform. On the platform itself, a couple of unicorns watched the train come to a screeching halt as it slowed down. When all the cars lined up with the stone train station, the ponies froze in place when they saw Magnus sitting on the freight car.

When they saw his mild grin and bending brow, along with a pony in his hands; they shook their heads, as if they were imagining things. When Magnus stood up, he cast a tall shadow making him appear terrifying. The couple screamed at the unexpected sight and ran off into the city. But Magnus was too busy admiring the city to even notice them.

It was an odd sight for Magnus, though it wasn’t the first time he had been to a city. Instead of the chrome buildings that could touch the sky; the architecture was more castle like and was as tall as him. The purple and yellow colors on the white buildings made Canterlot look appealing to him, but it wasn’t the jungle like he had hoped.

The train carts’ doors opened for the passengers inside. Before to many came out, Magnus got off the train and stepped on the pavement. The ponies from within the cars gasped in shock when they saw Fluttershy in his hand. The pegasus tried to call for help to the ponies below, but that only brought more attention than it did help. 

Before Magnus progressed, he turned around to see an excellent view of the land. It was then quickly spoiled when he saw a red hot air balloon with yellow ropes being pulled by a team of Pegasi. Seeing that they wore familiar red uniforms, Magnus knew that it was Big Top coming after him. He turned back around and began to move forward onto the streets of Canterlot, while his steps sent small tremors into the ground.

The ponies of Canterlot felt these tremors as their drinks began to ripple. When they looked up, they were speechless to see what had come to their city. Ponies instantly began to panic and run away when they saw him, and they all began to run inside nearby buildings for shelter. They began to calm down once they were inside, but they all watched in horror as the ape’s hairy legs passed by the windows. 

As Magnus continued on, another pegasus flew in front of his face. It was one of the pegasus royal guard, who saw the ape as he noticed frightened residents running past him during his patrol. He caught him while his back was turned, so he didn’t notice Fluttershy in his fist. He flew in front of his face to confront him, but it was foolish to do so. Fluttershy covered her eyes when Magnus took a swat at him, sending the guard into the air and towards the castle.

Fluttershy saw the violence before her and looked up to the ape,” Magnus, you’ve got to stop this!” she cried out, ”You don’t want the royal guard to be part of this!”  But the ape didn’t listen.

Up in the air, Big Top steadied the pegasi while Pegs began to search the city for Magnus. Since Magnus was large and had black fur, he contrasted well with the white buildings. Pegs spotted Magnus as they flew in closer, as well as some ponies as they scattered like ants. He pointed and turned to his boss,” There he is! He’s just now walking the streets! And from the looks of it sir, I think he may have caused some mayhem already!” Pegs said.

Big Top grumbled,” That stupid ape. Always getting himself into trouble.”

Pegs then said,” Why are you being so hard on Magnus?”

“It’s not my fault he won’t listen. He’s so dull witted he can’t do anything right!”

“I know you have a firm grip on your animals sir, but…”

Big Top gave a sudden disgusted look to him, “Are you saying that this is my fault? Mr. Pegs?”

Pegs backed off a bit, ”No sir, no I’m just saying that you have been a little hard on Magnus recently.”

Big Top looked down at Magnus,” Hard? He’s so stubborn Pegs. It’s his fault that ponies are panicking and running around in the streets! I never had this much trouble when I trained the other animals!” 

Peg’s didn’t want to argue his boss, fearing that it may cost him his job.” I understand sir.”

Big Top smiled again,” Good.” He turned his attention to the pegasi yelling,” Mush! Mush! We must stop that ape before he breaks anything!” The team steered themselves to the vicinity of the ape, preparing the balloon for landing.

Among the screaming ponies from below, Magnus heard an awful voice. He turned around to see Big Top landing on the ground with his team. The pegasi caught their breaths while Big Top jumped out of his balloon and pursued Magnus. The ape felt infuriated to see his face again and began to stammer. Fluttershy looked down to see what Magnus was upset about. 

Big Top looked at Magnus in his eyes,” Alright Magnus, you are going to listen to me! I will not allow any more disobedience any longer!” Magnus gave a grimace at his tone.” You are going to release that Pegasus, and come back with me to the circus!”

The ape simply snorted at him and turned his back,” Don’t you run away from me!” And that is just what he did. He began to walk quickly leaving Big Top behind. He looked up to see the golden tops of the Canterlot castle, with towers that branched out 

Meanwhile at the castle itself, the captain of the royal guard Shining Armor was at his post making sure things were in line as usual. He was left in charge of the place, since Celestia and Luna were on business elsewhere (unlucky day to pick unfortunately). 

When he looked into the sky, he saw one of his soldiers spinning out of control. The captain quickly used his magic to catch him just before he crashed into the stone walls of the castle. The captain gently let him down on the ground, where the soldier quickly shook his head from the motion sickness.

Shining was a little puzzled seeing a troop like him falling from the sky, “What happened? Gust of wind?”

The soldier panted as he maintained his balance,” Sorry about that captain, but I was thrown into the air by force. You’re not gonna believe it, but-” A loud thud could be heard off in the distance, catching Shining armors attention.

“What was that?!” he said looking to the city. The Pegasus soldier pulled out a set of binoculars for him. He looked straight through the instrument to see part the head of Magnus the Ultimate poking above the buildings. Shining armor pulled away for a second and looked at the soldier, “Are my eyes playing tricks on me?” 

“No sir, that’s a 30ft ape sir! I don’t know how in Equestria that beast got here, but as far as I know it’s headed down Main Street. If it keeps headed that direction it will make it to the castle in no time at all!” This was about as unexpected to Shining as the changeling invasion, only more bizarre. 

The captain looked through the binoculars again and quickly analyzed the direction he was moving, as well as his walking pace. Analyzing the possible path that Magnus would be traveling, Shining placed down the binoculars and gave his command. ”All right soldier, I need you to round any other troops you can find in the city. Bring them all as well as a cannon to 6th and Main. Load up the round and prepare an ambush! I’ll gather soldiers and more cannons to the front gate, just in case we can’t stop him there!” The soldier nodded, and flew away to carry out his captain’s orders.

Magnus continued to tread through the elegant city, leaving behind fear and cracked road in his path. Fluttershy then said with a more assertive voice,” Magnus, please! You’re scaring everypony as if you were a monster! You’re not a monster Magnus, stop!” Magnus once again didn’t listen to her. 

On the ground coming up from behind, was a squad of unicorn guards. They came behind for a surprise attack on Magnus. When they came into range the squad leader yelled,” There he is, fire!” They all took their aim and began to fire lasers at the ape. They didn’t hurt as bad as they would have on a regular equine, but they did hurt as much as the whip did back at the circus. 

The pains brought forth another sepia vision to the ape. He saw the ape to be the same one as before, as well as the ring master who also appeared. He was whipping the poor ape in cold blood, as he continued to fail his master. He said awful things at him and continued to whip him. The ape could only hide his face as he cried to his pain.

When the vision stopped, Magnus turned around and let out a roar that ceased the laser fire. He sprang into the air and landed on the ground, sending a shock wave at the squad. Magnus snorted and went on his way while the guard tried to get back up on their hooves. Magnus wanted to get to the castle faster than ever, and that was when he saw the street that could lead him straight there.

With this feel of adrenaline and motivation, he began to run towards the castle. As he ran ponies began to jump away as he passed by. These ponies began to panic like the rest, but they didn’t run around since he passed over so fast.

But this same street was the 6th and Main that Shining instructed to form the surprise attack. In the middle of that street was a cannon, surrounded by a team of guards. They made sure that nopony was in the streets or building, and gun was loaded for the surprise attack. All they had to do now was wait.

Shining armor arrived from behind the group,” Everything in position?”

“Yes sir, this ape won’t be coming through us.” Said one of them rubbing the metal cannon,” This bad boy is fully loaded sir. It’s gonna take that monkey down in one shot.”

”Here he comes.” Said another guard.

The footsteps grew louder as the ape approached the corner. When he looked into the street, he saw the firing squad aimed straight at him as soon as he turned seeing that it was an ambush. Fluttershy also saw the guards and cannon, and began to flail her hooves and yell to get their attention. But the guards could not see her very well with their heads tilted, nor could they hear her from that far.

“All right, on my word.” Said the officer, “Ready?” Pegasus had a rod for lighting the fuse. Shining then turned to the ape only to see something that the binoculars didn’t pick up, Fluttershy. By the time he noticed, the officer yelled “FIRE!” and the fuse was a lit. As a quick reaction, Shining used his magic to quickly steer the cannon away. 

The commander saw his action, “Captain what are you-“ BOOM! The gun went off, sending a solid heavy cannon ball straight for the building that was next to Magnus. The explosion sent dust and shot bits of brick at them. As the dust began to settle, Magnus waved his fist in the air.

Shining saw that the ball missed the target, but it was good that he wanted it to miss. The officer then said to him in suspicion, “Shining Armor sir, what’s going on?”

“We can’t shoot him, there is a Pegasus in his fist. It’s my sister’s friend Fluttershy!” The guard looked at the ape again and saw the Pegasus in his hand.

As Fluttershy flailed her hooves again, Magnus turned his body to the building that was hit. He put his free hand on top of the building and began to climb. Though this was the first time he ever climbed in a while, he was a natural. Once he had reached the top, he stood on top of the flat surface and felt the winds breeze past him. He had a good view of the entire country, and saw the sun begin to make its dip. 

“He’s climbed on top of the buildings. We can’t reach him!” yelled one of the troops as he watched Magnus walk on the roof tops.

He figured that it was safer where he was, so he switched to this type of transportation. It had a nicer view compared to the cooped up city below him, plus the guard would have a hard time hitting him with the fancy architecture for cover. He continued on towards his destination, as he shook the buildings as he walked.

One of the guards turned to Shining, “He’ll be at the castle in no time!” 

Shining then said, “If he makes it there…” he turned to the commander, ”We have to tell them to hold their fire.”

“What?! But he’ll bypass with ease! Besides the drawbridge they’re our last defense!” Replied the commander.

“We can’t risk the cannons hitting a civilian! Safety is top protocol soldier!” Shining looked onward to the castle,” Besides, she has ties with royalty especially!”

Now that he put it that way, the commander tried to think of a solution. He couldn’t argue with a soldier’s oath, as well as the possible punishments if they were broken. He turned to the troops, ”Let’s go!” and lead took the lead as they ran towards the palace. 

While Magnus used the tops of the buildings as his own expressway to the castle. The remaining civilians on that street saw him as he moved. The ape was practically flying through the air without any trouble. When Magnus reached the end of the buildings, he could see that he was in the final stretch of his run away. He leapt off the last of the buildings still holding Fluttershy in his hand, and landed onto the path that lead to the castle moat. It was yet another surprise attack, Shining armors back up plan.

On the other side of the plain, the wooden drawbridge was raised and was guarded by many pegasi and unicorn guards. There were six heavy cannons, and one in the center back that was huge and golden. A heavy, heavy artillery perhaps? All the troops saw the ape land with a thud and prepared for battle. They were not going to let Magnus get through.

“All right troops,” said a commander,” were not gonna let this monkey pass! Everypony take aim at the ape!” The troops did just that. The unicorns aimed their horns, while the others aimed the cannons in his direction. They were all loaded, with the lighters near the fuse. “Ready?!” Magnus began to howl and roar in intimidation, but the troops held their moral. Magnus began to approach the squad, “Aim!” The torches inched closer and closer close to the strings. 

But before the commander yelled fire, somepony on the other side yelled out, “Stop! Hold your fire!” The torches almost lit the fuse, but they pulled away at the last second. The commander looked off in the distance, seeing the captain along with an officer and more troops.

“Sir orders, sir!” The soldier said shaking to keep his aim tight.

The ape was getting dangerously close to the squad. The commander then saw Fluttershy and immediately ordered,” Stand down!” The entire squad turned to him. “You heard me men!” They quickly moved out in the nick of time, as they were nearly stepped on by the ape’s giant foot. Magnus didn’t understand why they didn’t bother to shoot him this time, but he moved right along and walked past all the troops and guns. 

The only thing between Magnus and the castle now was the draw bridge, the last line of defense preventing him from getting inside. Magnus jumped from the ground and onto the castle wall, where he began to pull body up to its top. Shining armor ran up to his comrades and said to the commander,”Did you see her in his hand?”

The commander nodded, ”Yes I did, but now what are we gonna do? There’s no way we can hit him without risking harm to the civilian.”

Shining watched as Magnus got himself up on the roof of a tower. He then came up with an excellent plan,” The Wonderbolts! If they can get that ape to release Fluttershy, then we can hit him with a barrage attack from the cannons. Chances are he’s headed for the tallest tower!”

The commander as well as the soldiers agreed to this plan,” Good thinking Shining,” he turned to one of the pegasi,” Fly to the Wonderbolts academy and bring those flying aces here! Quickly, go now!” He quickly flew off into the open to deliver the message,” We’ve got this dirty ape right where we want him.”

							
> Air Battle on The Tower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Magnus continued to climb up the fancy palace tower as the royal guard awaited the arrival of the Wonderbolts. As he carefully crossed over the gilded tops of the towers, ponies gathered to the city’s edge in a large group behind a police barricade. They all watched in terror as Magnus climbed, and fearing for the ponies in the castle as well as Fluttershy’s life. With one last leap, Magnus climbed to the tip top of the farthest tower of the castle; holding Fluttershy in one hand, while holding on to the flag pole with the other.

He saw that he had nowhere to go but he did feel safe and secure with his great distance from the guards and Big Top especially. If he was to ever come up to Magnus in his balloon, the ape would have the pleasure of making his ex-master plummet into the pit below him.

While Magnus made himself comfortable on the tower, Fluttershy noticed some things happening down below. She saw that the royal guard was now repositioning the cannons to the center of the path, and had them all pointing at Magnus. She then realized that they were in preparation to fire, and could tell that they were waiting for something. And then a terrible thought had occurred to her.  

At that moment, Magnus saw what Fluttershy suddenly feared would come. Off in the distance came trio of blue uniformed pegasi. It was none other than the Wonderbolts; the greatest team of flyers in all the land, who were just moments ago informed about what had happened in Canterlot. They flew in a vee formation as they had Magnus in their sights.

Magnus growled at this new threat as they started to circle the mountain. As the team rounded the mountain, Magnus prepared himself for the battle. He wrapped the hand with Fluttershy around the pole and began to howl at the pegasi for intimidation. With his sharp teeth showing and fury in his eyes, he was prepared for battle, as the Wonderbolts began diving one by one. 

The pegasi locked onto their target and began to swoop past him as a means to wear him down. They went back to the sky to prepare for the next attack as Magnus roared and shook his fist. The team went in for another attack, as Magnus began to swat at them. He swung his arm and tried to catch them, but the Wonderbolts were too fast to catch. Fluttershy tried to tell the Wonder bolts to stop as they flew by, but they were so fast that they could only hear them as cries of help.

After a few more waves, Magnus began to feel real tired and began to pant, he then sat down to regain his strength. As the Wonderbolts circled above the castle, Spitfire saw the ape was now vulnerable to their next attack. She signaled the others and they flew towards the tower, circling Magnus while they were still out of reach. They flew around and around, and began to create a vortex with high winds that surrounded the ape. The winds soon began to pick up as the group flew closer, causing the twister to trap Magnus inside. Magnus began to feel light headed from oxygen becoming scarce, and he could feel his tight grip on the pole loosen as he held on with all he had left.

As he and Fluttershy began to lose consciousness, another one of his flashbacks appeared in a mere flash. He saw the large ape again, and saw all the times he failed and made a fool of himself. When he saw him falling after trying to balance on a large ball; he realized that the ape in his visions was him, and that terrible ring leader was Big Top. He had come too far to give up now; and as the vision cleared up, he felt the will to fight return

He shook his head and brought himself closer to the pole. While the Wonderbolts were busy flying around him, Magnus managed to find their weak spot. Since the three were busy flying in circles and were close enough to him, Magnus swatted into the wall of the tornado. His hand managed to hit two of them, which then caused the tornado to vanish away and brought air flow into Magnus’ lungs and head.

The Wonderbolts flew off in retreat to a nearby cloud to catch their breaths. Magnus knew that it was only the end of round one, but now he was ready for anything. When they flew towards him in formation again, Magnus watched their flight path and waited for them to pass over him. The giant ape crouched down and awaited for his chance to strike.

As the Wonderbolts flew directly above Magnus, he sprang up into the air and roared at them. The Wonder Bolts couldn’t react quickly enough to this surprise, not even Spitfire as focused as she was. Magnus then raised his open hand and swat Spitfire out of the air. The others managed to avoid the attack as they broke formation, but they soon realized that their leader was in trouble.

Magnus landed back on the roof, damaging some of the tower with his weight, while the two Wonderbolts quickly dived in to Spitfire’s aid. The swat must have injured her wing, otherwise she would have recovered from the hit in seconds. The two members caught Spitfire as she was tumbling, and quickly retreated to the guard to tend Spitfire’s injury. Magnus banged his chest with one hand when he saw that victory was his.

The Wonderbolts landed safely on the ground over by the royal guard. The greatest flyers in Equestria defeated by an ape. ” That ape is dynamite!” Spitfire exclaimed,” We didn’t even see that one attack coming!” 

The commander looked at Shining with high concern, “Now what do we do? We can’t even beat him with the Wonderbolts! That was our last resort!” Shining armor then began to quickly think of something else.

While Magnus began to celebrate over his victory, Fluttershy had just about had enough. She had just about had it with all this madness and would like it all to just stop. She had tried talking with Magnus yet it didn’t work, but this time he was going to listen to her whether he liked it or not. With one giant inhale, she yelled out from the top of her lungs. “YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW MAGNUS!!!”

The shout echoed through the air as a sudden burst of energy that did indeed get Magnus’ attention. Not only that, but the shout managed to travel all the way to the crowd in the city. Everypony in that large group as well as the royal guard, watched the events unfold without saying a word.

The ape felt brought Fluttershy up to his face and gave off a mean look, but his intimidation couldn’t effect the yellow Pegasus while she at him in the eye, ”You heard me mister! I want you to stop this behavior at once! I demand to have a word with you! And I will not stop yelling until you talk! Now talk, I know you can!” The ape took a deep breath, and began to make all sorts of angry gorilla grunts that expressed how he felt.

He told all of his feelings towards Big Top, how much he pushed him and how much he relentlessly abused him. Fluttershy after hearing this softly said,” I understand your feelings towards Big Top.” After hearing this, Magnus’ anger was replaced with surprise. He didn’t expect her to understand him.” I heard awful rumors about him, and I went back stage to investigate. When I saw you in pain inside your cage I had to alert Big Top of your condition. He lied to me when he said that nothing would go wrong.” Magnus began to feel her sympathy towards him.” I felt absolutely awful for when you fell down, and I hated the way Big Top whipped you.”

Magnus nodded as he began to make some soft small noises at her. He told her that it wasn’t fair that he was the only one being abused, and that no one could help him. Fluttershy felt saddened to hear this,” That’s just absolutely awful, but you’re not alone Magnus. It saddens me to say that there are animals just like you around Equestria who are abused day and night, and they too feel what you are feeling. I will not let you stay with that horrible stallion any longer, you deserve better than this.” 

The ape looked down at the city and felt very guilty for what he did. He started to sniffle a little and began to cry out tears. “There there, it’s okay it’s okay. You were just stressed out, that’s all.” Magnus wiped away his tears and started to smile. ”I want you to make your way down the castle, and we can sort this all out with Big Top. I promise.” The ape looked grinned at Fluttershy as he soaked up his tears.

“Now,” Fluttershy added, ”could you let me go please?” The ape did as she requested and realesed her from his grasp. The Pegasus felt her pelt exposed by the cold air after being held in the ape’s sweaty hand for so long. Magnus didn’t even remember why he even took Fluttershy in the first place. Fluttershy began to float herself up with her wings as Magnus began to feel nervous, ”It’s okay Magnus, as long as I’m with you nothing bad will happen.”

Back at the open field, everypony who was watching saw Magnus making his way down the towers. The soldiers saw that Fluttershy was free, but they didn’t shoot at him. They all saw the ape to be friendlier than he was hostile, but there was still tension in the air. Despite this feeling, Shining could see that Magnus had indeed changed. Twilight had told him about Fluttershy’s gift of caring for animals, but he never expected it to save the city. 

The captain then said,” Stand down, I think Fluttershy can take it from here.” The troops looked at each other and stepped a few feet back. Magnus climbed up and over the wall, climbed down and put his feet to the edge of the moat. Fluttershy landed on the ground as Magnus stepped forward. Some ponies among the crowd and the guard were still fearing this as a trap; but Magnus simply sat himself down crisscross applesauce style. He gave an innocent looking grin and relieved the last of the tension among the city.

Shining armor walked up to her trying to find the right words” I thought that you were good as gone! I-I don’t even know what to say.” He looked up at Magnus,” I mean, you saved the city!”

Fluttershy blushed a little,” Oh, it was nothing.”

Spitfire then said,” Nothing!? You call taming a giant wild animal with your own voice nothing?! If only it was that easy to us.” She pulled up her goggles,” you’ve got quite the gift there.” The shy pony began to blush some more.

Fluttershy flew herself up to Magnus and presented a hoof for him to take. He then stood up and took her leg with his large fingers. He was then brought to the crowd like a little child, as the unicorns became fond of his goofy smile. They began to smile and giggle, making Magnus feel warm and welcome. It wasn’t every day that you would see a 30ft ape up close.

Shining armor then said,” What did cause this ape to flip out?” 

As Magnus waved at the crowd, he heard a voice he thought he’d hear the last of. “Magnus! Oh Magnus you’re all right!” It was the voice of Big Top, coming from within the crowd. He pushed his way to quickly get to the front of the group. With his suit all crooked and mustache all frizzled up, Big Top emerged from the crowd with a giant grin on his teeth.

”You have caused quite the mischief today, and looking around this city nothing appears to be damaged (hopefully).” The crowd began to murmur about his strange behavior.” Now before anypony gets any ideas, I would like you to come along quickly please?” Magnus only frowned down at him and refused to obey.” Come now Magnus, let’s go!” 

“He’s not going with you!” Fluttershy scolded.

“Who said that?” he looked to see Fluttershy with a serious look. “Ah Miss Fluttershy, I see that you tamed my ape for me.” Fluttershy wasn’t going to buy his smooth talk, and neither was the crowd.

“He’s not your ape. You don’t deserve him, after all the mean things you did to him!” 

The crowd began to murmur louder, making Big Top sweat a little. “I don’t recall what you’re talking about, but if you would recall my words Fluttershy I found Magnus out in the jungle. Technically, he his company property you see.”

Fluttershy walked up to the master, “I speak for the animals Mr. Big Top. And I say that you have been abusing you’re animals.” The crowd gasped at this news.” Magnus has told me that you have whipped him, called him mean names, and never cared about him one bit!”

Magnus twitched in his eye as the crowd’s murmurs pressured his anger.” Alright!” he yelled,” So I may have been a little bit hard on Magnus, big deal!”

The shy Pegasus then said,” I never thought that I would be saying these words ever, but there is a special place in Tartarus for animal abusing scum just like you!” 

As the group of high class civilians agreed and gave Big Top dirty looks, he blew his fuse. “And you know what else Ms. Fluttershy, I push all my animals to perform at the Big Top Circus and I don’t care! It’s not like they have feelings; all they do is sleep, eat, and perform! I would rather snap their necks then let my company die! I’m taking Magnus with me and there is nothing you can do stop me!”

Fluttershy didn’t say anything. She took a few steps as a white figure dropped down in front of Big Top. He tilted his head up to see that it was princess Celestia. Everypony bowed down in her glory, except for Big Top who felt like he might have said too much. Celestia turned to Fluttershy, “I see we’ve had quite the trouble while I was gone.” She looked over to Magnus, who was very fascinated to see her magnificent light,” but at least it was stopped before something bad happened.”

“Everything is alright your majesty.” Fluttershy said,” Magnus here was just a little bit stressed out, that’s all.”

Celestia turned to Big Top who was sweating out hail and quaking,” And this is your ape?”

With a shaky voice, he said,” And what if it is?”

Celestia raised an eye-brow,” If it was your ape, you would be fined for all of the damages caused by him.” Big Top was afraid that she would say that,” On top of that, you would probably be sentenced to 3 years in the dungeon for animal cruelty.” She turned and looked up at Magnus.” He may be just an animal, but there does exist laws that protect them from cruelty.” She turned back to Big Top, only to find that he had vanished. Everypony was busy looking at Celestia to notice him slip away.

“He’s gone!” said one of the guards. Everypony in the crowd twisted their heads to see where he had vanished to.

“There he is!” said one pony in the back who saw him turning the corner. He was running like mad to make his escape to his red balloon.

The guards ran off to start chasing after him, but Fluttershy then said, “Wait!” The guards stopped and turned to her,” I think he’s learned his lesson.” The guards didn’t understand why she would be as merciful as to let him go, but I guess that’s just Fluttershy being Fluttershy.

Then out from the crowd, stepped forward one earth pony and three pegasi. It was Big Top’s second in command Pegs along with the pegasi that pulled their company’s balloon. “I guess we’ll be paying for all of this.”

“And you are?” asked Celestia.

“My name is Pegs your highness, and I’m my boss’ assistant manager.” He scratched the back of his neck as he felt guilt,” for what it’s worth, we are very sorry that this all happened. Big Top explained to us that he was doing it for the good of the company. We are going to have to pay for the damages in the street and maybe the castle.”

“You have my forgiveness, though you don’t have to pay for this.” Celestia said,” It was Big Top’s fault not yours.”

“I know, but Magnus is our responsibility.”

A new voice then came from the crowd,” That won’t be necessary.” The voice sounded like Big Tops, only it was deeper and more soothing sounding. As he passed through the crowd, the citizens themselves were astounded to look at him. He was a buff unicorn stallion, with a black mane and white pelt. He had a short beard, blue eyes, and wore a blueish black top hat. The suit he wore was blue and was lined with gold, and he was easily recognized by the crowd as his suit glistened in the sun.

It didn’t even take Pegs a second to realize who he was. “It can’t be, your-“

“I am Moscow of the Moscow Circus. The one and only show with the world with the best acrobats to be found in one place.”

Pegs was speechless by the stallion’s presence,” It’s an honor to meet you sir!”

He chuckled a little,” Ah, that’s what they all say. It’s like I give off a bright light in a dark room (must be the lighting) But enough about me, I see that you’re leader has told everyone here about his habits, making him unfit to run his business. You would all be out of work if that happened. So I would like to offer you and the others to jobs. We’ll expand my circus and show case your animals.”

Pegs heart jumped, thinking that he was dreaming,” What?!”

“It would sadden me to see you all out of work. I have seen Big Top’s animals perform as well and I know of his secret, and I think they would be better off in a place that respects them. Besides, I do not think that it is right for Big Top to leave all of these reparations on his company’s shoulders, so it will be me who will be paying for the damages.”

Fluttershy then said,” Wait, you knew about Big Top’s animal cruelty?”

“For the longest time yes.” Moscow looked to the sky, seeing Big Top flying away in his hot air balloon.” I wanted to merge with him at one point, but I couldn’t because of his ways.” He turned to the assistant,” And now that you’re going to be in charge um…”

“Pegs sir.”

“Pegs, I’m hoping that maybe you can turn the show for the better. I want you to be in command of the Ex-Big Top employees, and we’ll bring one massive show to the public. I’ll also set up your half with venues all across the land. How does that sound?”

Pegs ran up to him and got down on his knees,” Oh thank you sir, I won’t let you down!”

Big Top smiled at his over exaggerated behavior. He then helped him back on his hooves and turned to the ape,” Can I talk to you Magnus.”

The ape nodded and lowered his hand down to him. He hopped on, and was raised up to his face,” Oh Magnus, I see that Big Top has caused so much pain for you. That isn’t what you wanted at all did you?” The ape shook his head,” Now I’m not sure if you’re interested due to your past as a performer, but I was wondering if you could be my grand finale?” Magnus looked a little bit nervous towards the decision,” Don’t you worry, I promise that I will treat you like a new friend. Like Fluttershy, I don’t want to see you being abused. I want you to have a good life, and a good home. So what do you say?” Magnus smiled and shook his head up and down.

The ape placed him next to Fluttershy,” So you’re the one who tamed Magnus correct?”

Fluttershy softly said,” Yes, I have a way with animals sir, It’s my calling. I was also questioning Big Top’s methods too. I was probably the only other pony who found out I suppose.”

He grinned at her,” Well Ms. Fluttershy, I promise you that I will take good care of him. I will even allow you free access to the backstage to see him. All I request from you, is for your trust. That is all I ask.”

She nodded with a smile,” He’s in good hooves sir.”

“Good.” He turned to the crowd,” Attention everypony! With the approval of Fluttershy, Magnus, and Mr. Pegs. From this day onward, my circus as well as the remainder of the Big Top circus, shall come together to form an even grander circus. Where my stunning performers, shall perform along with great animal talent. It will be my new goal to make the animals become the best they could be, and make our stand as the greatest show in Equestria!” The crowd began to cheer and clap their hooves for this great unity, and Celestia grinned with as her own approval.

Peg’s was so happy, that it brought a proud tear to his eye. Magnus has never felt so happy in his life. Fluttershy giggled, looking at Magnus’ goofy face,” I think that he’s fond of you already.”

Moscow looked up to Magnus as he smiled back at him,” I think you’re right Ms. Fluttershy, I’m most certain he is.”

-The End-